Two separate banks put out press releases Tuesday announcing the launch of online money market trading "portals". The first, entitled, "Bank of America Merrill Lynch to Offer CashPro Invest," is subtitled, "Investment Banking Affiliates Will Collaborate with Cachematrix on Enhanced Online Investment Application." The second is headlined, "Comerica Securities Introduces New Online Money Market Trading System." Online money fund trading portals, which allow web access to offerings from multiple fund families, control approximately $380 billion, or 20% of institutional money fund assets, according to Crane Data estimates.
The BofA release says, "Bank of America Merrill Lynch today announced an agreement that will create a world-class investment application to be integrated with the bank's next-generation treasury management portal, CashPro Online. CashPro Invest will be developed through an agreement with Cachematrix, a leading provider of custom trading solutions for global financial institutions. When available later this year, the new order entry, research and reporting application will provide more efficiency and give clients a higher level of service in investment activities."
Fred Berretta, Global Liquidity Solutions executive, comments, "By leveraging the latest technology and best practices, CashPro Invest will deliver the investment capabilities that our clients expect from an industry-leading financial services firm. This new application will offer clients improved navigation, faster speed and other benefits, and serves as another example of Bank of America Merrill Lynch's ongoing investment in innovation and commitment to global expansion."
The release adds, "CashPro Invest will be integrated with CashPro Online, the new treasury management portal that Bank of America Merrill Lynch launched in 2009. CashPro Invest will be provided through the Bank of America's investment banking affiliates -- Banc of America Securities LLC and/or Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated. CashPro Online also will be enhanced over the next year with new payments and information reporting applications. Cachematrix currently hosts a separate investment account management application within Bank of America Merrill Lynch called MoneyMarkets Express. Clients now using that platform, as well as those using another existing investment application, will migrate to CashPro Invest starting later this year."
George Hagerman, CEO of Cachematrix, says, "We're pleased to build on our existing relationship with Bank of America Merrill Lynch and welcome the opportunity to help create a leading investment application in CashPro Invest. The release also says, "Bank of America Merrill Lynch embarked on a multi-year investment in new technology as part of the bank's expansion of treasury management, corporate banking and other businesses in key global markets."
Comerica's release says, "Comerica Securities has introduced Maestro, a new online money market trading system designed especially for institutional customers of Comerica Securities. Comerica Securities' Maestro system can be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week through Comerica's home page www.comerica.com. Through the Maestro system, Comerica Securities' institutional customers can place and cancel trades, check daily activity reports, and review their money market and 'sweep' account balances."
"With the constant need for information in today's business environment, Maestro is a tool that can be a great asset for our institutional customers -- saving time and enabling them to work more effectively," explained Ross Rogers, senior vice president and chief executive officer of Comerica Securities.
